


Creatures of Habit

by Artan



Series: Fluency AU [11]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Cultural Differences, F/M, Food, Languages, Shopping, Species Habits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 09:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9432836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artan/pseuds/Artan
Summary: With summer in full swing and a free day, Nick and Judy take the time to visit one of the city's largest open air markets.  Fresh food isn't the only thing they walk away with this time.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Bold is Vulpine  
> Italics are Lapine

Judy was practically dragging Nick out the door.  As much as she had gotten the fox used to waking up early for their job, he still fought hard to rouse himself early on his days off.  She had managed to accelerate his morning routine with a steaming cup of dark coffee, but the dregs of sleep still clung to him.  Her fox’s wide yawn was a clear indicator of just how little of a morning mammal he was, as they navigated down the stairs.  Judy caught a glimpse of his long, white teeth and curling tongue before his jaws shut.  It sent a jolt of excitement through her and brought a smile to her face.  She knew it wasn’t a normal reaction for most rabbits, but that fox meant the world to her.

The metro was surprisingly busy, they should have been late enough to miss the rush hour craze but there were still a healthy number of mammals aboard.  There were some mornings when Nick nearly fell asleep atop her, although this wasn’t one of them.  As the fox surveyed the view through the windows on the far side of the car, he leaned against her.  Not much, just enough to be a reminder of his presence.  It was their day off, but he had insisted on making this trip.  They were visiting one of the city’s open air markets.

The countryside was seemingly full of roadside produce stands and orchards to visit, but none of them were even near this scale.  If Nick’s memories were correct the market stretched for blocks.  As the oldest in the city there was plenty of history and tradition behind it.  Nick had her disembark several blocks away, at the station that used to serve southern Happytown.  The name may have changed on the maps, but the station’s sign hadn’t.  Her mate led them further south, closer to the docks and commercial rail lines that supplied the city.  Something was generating a large crowd nearby, judging from the babble of voices she could hear.

They turned the corner of the former Southside Brewery building and a host of sights and sounds confronted them.  An open pavilion stretched most of the block before them with the space beneath it filled by stalls of all descriptions.  Mammals with just as much variety stood behind tables covered in produce, jars, and baked goods.  It was a little overwhelming for Judy, even at a distance.  Nick guided her through the thick crowd, keeping a paw on her back to help them stick together.  The tables and booths around them were clearly made for much larger mammals, who were the majority of animals around them.

A zebra was haggling with two tigers over a jar of some dark brown sauce while a bison bellowed the exquisite quality of her herbs and produce.  At only waist high, the couple carefully jostled and threaded their way along towards something more their height.  Judy caught glimpses of what was being sold as gaps opened in the throng of animals.  Everything from breads to flowers was for sale, along with many more objects Judy was unable to identify.  It was more than she could handle, with the sea of voices and pressing crowds.

One pavilion ended and there was a small gap between it and the next one.  Just enough space for one of the ubiquitous delivery trucks to fit through, once some produce was moved out of the way.  In that space, Nick pulled her over to the side, out of the stream of mammals.  “ **You ok, fluff?** ”  Concern filled his voice as he gently rubbed her shoulders.  “ **I know this place can be a little overwhelming, but with how fast that nose of yours is going, I’m afraid it may just fall off.** ”  Now that she was paying attention, Nick was right.  The sounds of everything around her honestly were overwhelming.  Her heartrate was far more than it should have been and her breaths were short and clipped.  It was something she tried to keep under wraps, but stress and anxiety were chronic issues for rabbits.

She stood there for a time to calm herself.  It was rare for her to need to steady herself like this; the sudden influx of sensations must have combined with the packed crowds to trigger this reaction.  Times like this made Judy realize just how in-sync the two of them were.  Perhaps a little too in-sync if the looks they got from Clawhauser after they finished each other’s sentences was anything to go by.  As her body relaxed, something came to mind that she had forgotten to ask the day before.  “ **Nick, what are we even here for?  I mean, you were very insistent that we come here, even to the point of having me wake you up early.  Is there something specific you need to find here?** ”

The questioning look on her fox’s face was suddenly replaced by a mixture of surprise and mild embarrassment, before a guilty smile slowly crossed his muzzle.  “Well Bun, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached to my own shoulders.  A part of this is to pick up some ingredients to use with that basil we have growing in the pot by the window.”  Judy sighed, “It’s true, you really would forget your own head.  Luckily, I’m here for you.  Aside from some spices, what else are we here for?”  Nick’s embarrassment deepened slightly before it was deftly hidden behind his public mask, a raised eyebrow shattered his façade.

“You promise not to laugh?”  Nick asked.  Judy reached up and rubbed his ears, the two oblivious to the occasional glares from more traditional mammals that passed.  “ **Only if you laugh first.** ”  She said with a reassuring smile.  He spoke quietly, as if even he was a little ashamed of what he had to say.  “I am looking for some antler.”  For all her confusion, Judy was getting restless just standing around.  “Well, let’s find one.  We can walk and talk.”

Once again, the two made their way through the crowd.  This time, the two walked side-by-side as he talked.  “You know how we spoke last month week about your tooth-wear-block-thing?  Something you said stood out; you mentioned that dealing with oversized teeth was somewhat of a social experience.  All this time, you have been gnawing on that maple stick while I have been doing my own thing.  I would like to join you this time, in my own way.”  Nick spoke with his paws, especially if they weren’t occupied with something else, and this was no exception.  Judy grabbed one mid-gesture and held it with both paws, tugging him to face her.  He didn’t seem surprised by the fierce hug she gave him this time.

After disentangling themselves, they managed to reach a far more appropriately scaled section of the market.  Instead of mammals towering over them, they could finally see atop the tables with ease.  Not to mention they weren’t going to be trampled when the other mammals were only a foot taller at most.  Nick was in the process of telling one of his stories as he passed booth after booth.  “So you see fluff,”  He commented with a small smirk, “That is how I almost got hitched with Raymond’s sister instead of the most beautiful rabbit I cou-“  Mid-sentence, he cut off and veered over to the other side of the pavilion.  Judy nearly tripped over a few smaller mammals as she hurried to join him.

He had a wide grin on his face as he surveyed a table of brightly colored powders.  He was speaking animatedly with another fox on the other side of the table.  Unlike Nick, this one was a dark black, with white markings along his muzzle.  As soon as she approached, Nick placed his arm around her shoulders.  The gesture was unmistakable as the shop keep’s eyebrows rose, his ears stood erect, and a small smile crossed his muzzle.  “ **It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Matron Hopps.** ”  The fox bowed his head slightly as he spoke, before he continued.  “ **I am Brian Greenwood, Nick used to stop by my mother’s grocery store when he still lived in the back of Finnick’s van.  Good to see someone finally got a handle on him; he needed someone to give him a good kick to the tail.** ”  Judy nodded politely before extending a paw.  “ **A pleasure as well, Mr. Greenwood, we are we looking at here that has my mate so interested?** ”

The two males looked at each other before turning back to face her with similar expressions.  Nick had a face that just radiated excitement wile Brian looked ready to burst with pride.  The two of them began by talking over each other, stopping, then waiting for a moment to see who would speak first.  Nick pounced on the initiative and began, “ **Well, you see fluff, this booth used to be run by this tod’s mother.** ”  He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb as he talked.  “ **However, with her getting on in years, Brian has made this place his own.  He has plenty of spices I thought I would have to mix on my own, but now I can just get them here!** ”  Cooking was one of his passions, he would never admit it, but Judy was certain that it was because it reminded him of his mother before their falling out.

The fox in question brought a pinch of some brown powder flecked with black specks down to her nose.  “ **Here, smell this.** ”  He asked.  The blend of spices was earthy and warm.  Slightly smoky it brought to mind the campfires and hiking trips she had taken with some of her siblings as a kit.  “ **It’s like nothing I’ve ever had before!** ”  Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Judy found another pinch of spices held before her nose.  “ **Now try this one!** ”  Her mate’s excitement was contagious as she found herself sampling spice after spice.  All the while, the two old acquaintances were reconnecting.  Eventually they had to part ways, leaving with broad smiles and a few small plastic bags of spices.

The market was large, and not just in the mammals it catered to.  There were almost three whole city blocks taken up by the market, without including the tables on the edges of the area and the less than official pop-up stands on the sidewalks.  Somehow, amidst all that area and chaos, Nick expected to find his antler.  Judy however had slightly better luck, and just before midday found a small piece of home.  As they wandered the border between the medium and small scale markets, the strains of Lapine reached her ears.  It wasn’t the rolling accents of Deerbrooke or the more chopped syllables that set Podunk apart, but the familiar twang of Bunnyburrow.  A slight tug on her mate’s paw brought the two of them over to a table nearly overflowing with produce.  A trio of rabbits stood on the far side of the table in the midst of a heated discussion.  She wasn’t really listening to their talk, but as soon as Judy cleared her throat they spun around to face her.

Problem was, the fox standing next to her caught their attention first.  Judy would be the first to admit he was a devilishly handsome male, from his pointed snout to his long fluffy tail.  Even though he didn’t always put the most effort into his wardrobe it managed to not be a complete mess, sometimes.  A second throat clearing snapped their focus to her and Judy finally realized who they were.  “ _You’re the Meadowbuck triplets, aren’t you?  Paul, Sam, and Anthony, right?_ ”  The three bucks nodded as Judy extended a paw.  “ _Judy Hopps, we went to high school together.  This is my husband, Nick Wilde._ ”  Nick extended a paw of his own as the three shook hers.  There was a slight tension in his body language that was markedly absent from his voice.  “ _It’s a pleasure to meet you three as well._ ”

As the shock of a fox speaking Lapine crossed their faces, the three of them practically tripped over each other in the attempt to shake his paw as well.  Now that the pleasantries had been addressed, they moved straight to business.  The brothers had seemingly worked out an arrangement with several farms around town and sold a small portion of their harvests here in the city.  With the growing foodie movement it was turning out to be a highly profitable venture, one she would have to tell her father about.  There was plenty of fresh produce, and somehow they ended up walking away with more than they had intended to get.  At least Nick would be able to put it all to good use.

As noon approached they snacked from their purchases.  A young, juicy celery stalk crunched between Judy’s teeth in the most satisfying way as Nick caught blueberries in his mouth.  Apparently the ones from her family’s farm were better, but the fruits disappeared just as fast.  They were moving back into the larger section of the market when Judy spotted what they had been searching for.  Through a gap in the crowd she spied a table filled with shed antlers and a stag standing behind them with velvety stumps atop his head.  A nearby empty crate made a perfect stool as the two surveyed their selections.

Antler wasn’t something Judy had seen growing up.  Much like its name would imply, Bunnyburrow was a lapine stronghold with only a few other species in small numbers.  Now that she could get a closer look, the antlers seemed to mimic fallen branches, ranging in color from a bleached white to pale yellow.  Some had numerous branches and points, but most were just small segments.  She had no idea what to look for, but Nick clearly did.  He quickly inspected the pieces and selected one that had several branches.  A few taps and prods with his claws lead to an exchange of bills.  Judy tried not to express her shock at the cost.  The tightness she saw along her mate’s jawline told her just what he thought of that price himself.

They were back on the metro before the lunchtime rush, which was a miracle by itself.  As they rode home however, the car filled with mammals making the small talk they had held impossible.  The loud background mixed with the rattle of older rail cars in need of mild repair and gave Judy a chance to do some thinking in the arms of her fox.  It was almost time to visit Nick’s Ancestors again, and this time she was going to bring an offering of her own.  Blueberries would be an excellent choice, if she could just keep them out of her mate’s jaws long enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what it is with me and food, but I am sensing a running theme here. Either way, this is inspired by one of the local markets, in the Detroit area. Unfortunately for me, with the weather taking a turn for the strange this isn't the right season to visit.


End file.
